After social-media campaign, UFC 145's John Alessio energized by fan support

As far as John Alessio is concerned, the UFC could have called him on Monday, and he would have boarded a plane bound for Atlanta.

“I’m a fighter, man,” Alessio told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “A fighter should fight when they get that phone call.”

“You don’t always get eight to 10 weeks to prepare for a fight.”

No, sometimes you have to wait even longer for what you want. But after six years and 21 fights outside the world’s premier MMA organization, Alessio would have jumped at any opportunity to get back inside the octagon.

“It’s been a long road, but there was not one ounce of give-up or quit inside of me,” continued Alessio (34-14 MMA, 0-3 UFC), who makes his return to the UFC this weekend with a main-card bout against Mark Bocek (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at UFC 145. “I knew if I just persevered, I would get back eventually. The hard work paid off.”

UFC 145 takes place Saturday at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view while FX carries a preliminary card that follows Facebook prelims.

While it’s been nearly 12 years since the Vancouver-born, Las Vegas-based Alessio made his debut in the UFC with a submission loss to welterweight champ Pat Miletich at UFC 26, the Canadian nicknamed “The Natural” says he’s feels right at home in his return bout — which he accepted on short notice on April 2, just two weeks after defeating Ryan Healy via unanimous decision in a Score Fighting Series match in Canada.

“I’ll tell you what I’m feeling right now is just pure excitement,” said the 32-year-old Alessio, who will be fighting for the 49th time as a pro. “I’m just happy and blessed. I just feel so good right now, ready and focused. I’m not nervous at all.

“That could change the day of the fight; I can’t predict what I will be like on Saturday. But I don’t really think I’ll be too nervous. I’m more thankful for this opportunity, and I want to make the most of it.”

After losing to Miletich, Alessio dropped two more matches to top contenders in Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves, forcing the UFC to issue him his walking papers after three separate stints with the promotion.

While many things have changed since 2006, most notably Alessio’s drop to lightweight, the level of competition he faces in his return match remains just as stiff as it was when he left.

The 30-year-old Bocek, a fellow Canadian, presents a serious challenge considering he is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. But Alessio said he thinks his contrasting strength in standup could make matters equally perplexing for Bocek.

“He’s taken down Ben Henderson, Jim Miller,” he said. “He’s grinded out decision losses with those guys, but they were very close fights. If they would have given him the decision, I don’t think there would have been an uproar.

“With that being said, he just wants to do one thing. He wants to get me down, grind it out, look for a submission if it’s there, and win that way. Me, I’m coming into this fight looking to have some fun, inflict as much damage as possible. Just put on the best possible fight for the crowd. Make it as exciting as possible.”

After all, Alessio says he owes many of those fans, who through social media put on quite the campaign to influence UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to bring him back into the UFC fold.

“I appreciate all the support over the years,” he said. “Those guys never gave up on me. It’s been overwhelming the response I’ve received. Everyone campaigning to get me to the UFC was amazing.

“To see it all come true, words can’t explain. It’s just awesome. I’m going to take all that energy that everybody gave me and take it into the cage Saturday.”

While Alessio’s dreams of another shot in the UFC have come true, there is one more fighting wish he wants to cross off his bucket-list.

“The Calgary card in July, I would love (to fight on that),” he said of the planned UFC 149 card. “And if the UFC goes back to Vancouver, that would be even better.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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